Persephone's Dream is a progressive rock band from United States of America and this is their fourth disc. It has been six years since their last disc, Opposition, and Pyre of Dreams continues in the same style, a unique mix of progressive rock, jazz and some blues crafted into lush, melodic and often quite catchy songs. Although mainly guitar-driven, the songs are full of thick, groovy bass lines and spacey keys. The mood is darker and moodier than Opposition, and Pyre of Dreams, though accessible, is certainly Persephone’s Dream most demanding listen to date; there is just the right amount of complexity to keep the music fresh and interesting without ever sounding self-indulgent.

Their female vocalist, Colleen Gray, is new to the band, replacing previous vocalist Karin Nicely. Colleen has a somewhat husky alto voice, sometimes surprisingly deep, with an alluring, engaging passion. Her voice is very strong and forceful, yet, like Karin before her, she has a lot of variety in her delivery. Sometimes she is quite aggressive, sometimes she is playful, and sometimes she sings in a laid-back, almost melodic talking style. I knew it would be a challenge to find a vocalist to replace Karin who could do justice to Persephone’s Dreams music but the band has succeeded well beyond my expectations with Colleen.

Persephone’s Dream actually made two slightly different versions of this disc. The main release is called the "King Arthur" version; the second version is called "Lady in the Lake." Both versions contain the same songs but in a slightly different order and performance; specifically, the 7th and 8th songs are performed in two slightly different ways. DC Cooper sings them on the "King Arthur" version and Heidi Engel sings them on the "Lady of the Lake" version, with DC doing backing vocals. In both cases the songs in the other version appear as the last two songs on the disc. I slightly prefer the "Lady of the Lake" song order as Heidi’s vocals better preserve the since of flow of the disc and their arrangements are a bit more interesting.

For more information visit the band’s websites http://www.myspace.com/persephonedream or http://www.persephonesdream.com

8.5 / 10